COVID … GO THE F*%K AWAY!

I am done … over it … We have all had enough! I had every intention of sharing more stories of extraordinary ladies for Women’s History month, but that isn’t happening. Life threw me another curveball and kicked my butt with stress this week. My brains are fried, and I can’t think straight, so spreading some love to the girls will have to wait until next week. Remember when my daughter had covid at college? Well, now it’s in the house.  

Last Sunday, I very excitedly posted a picture of Joey getting his first Covid vaccine – Yay!?

On Tuesday morning, he developed a fever and was sent home from school. “It’s probably a reaction to the shot,” they said and we agreed.

His arm didn’t even hurt, but he got a fever two days later. Hmmm … that’s different.

Maybe reactions are delayed because he has developmental delays? Is a thought that went through my head. 

I had heard and read that people who had reactions to the first vaccine already experienced Covid.  

Maybe he had covid and was asymptomatic, and I didn’t realize, and that’s why he is reacting to the first shot? Is another thought I pondered.  

I heard from other people who also experienced side effects to the first who did not have Covid, so maybe he is just getting lucky? UGH! 

So the next day, he started ok, and we figured it was over – Yay?!

Later in the afternoon, when the fever returned, my mind was able to wander a little further … Damn, these fevers are random, and now he isn’t really eating. So I started googling, looking for other stories of different reactions. There were lots of stories, but none that resonated.

On Wednesday night, around midnight, when he was burning up, it suddenly occurred to me this was reminiscent of when he was diagnosed with Leukemia.

I didn’t sleep so much with that thought.  

Instead, I checked him ever hour, like I did ten years ago.

On Thursday, when it was 11:30 am, and he hadn’t eaten his breakfast bagel, I became increasingly agitated. Later that afternoon, his fever returned. I checked his body for the petechiae rash that comes with Leukemia and called the pediatrician. She remarked it was atypical of a reaction to the first shot and wanted to see him the next day. She wanted to run blood tests and check him out for other viruses. Again, he burned up that night. 

So we went to see her on Friday. His fever was still up and down, and this time, he didn’t eat his second piece of pizza for lunch. If you know him, this is a sure sign of a problem! The pediatrician did a PCR test for Covid, flu, and RSV and took vials of blood to do a whole workup. She also checked his body for the rash but couldn’t tell amongst all the hair on his body and the dry skin rash that never goes away.  

We come home, and 45 minutes later, she calls with the bad news/good news. The bad news is Joe tested positive for Covid. What? That never even crossed my mind. You aren’t supposed to get the vaccine if you have covid, but how would I know he had it with no symptoms?  There is nothing I can do about it now … it was just awful timing.

So I asked her if he could have been asymptomatic, and the vaccine brought out the symptoms, but she didn’t know. There is too much unknown about this damn virus. His lungs were clear, so hopefully, this will be all it is.

The good news is it’s probably not Leukemia, but she will call me the next day with the blood test results. Phew!

Don’t you hate it when a doctor leaves you a message saying she needs to talk to you to go over blood test results? Like, your heart rate goes up, your head spins, and you go down roads you don’t want to?  

Well, his white blood cell count was 1.4. When he had Leukemia, this was low. How low was it, you ask? So low, the threshold for getting or not getting chemo was 1.0. When you google this stuff, it says only the severe cases of Covid have such low counts, and you get the mortality rate. Needless to say, I was bordering on a panic attack.  

I reached out to a couple of beautiful nurses and his oncologist, and here is what I learned … 

WBC cells are usually low when they are fighting a virus, and this low is not abnormal. Most people who test positive don’t have blood tests unless they are in the hospital, at which point they are severely ill. Joe’s pediatric oncologist confirmed that when she told me most of her patients are asymptomatic with a covid diagnosis, and their WBC is lower than it should be even with the chemo. We will be doing rechecks until they are back to normal! 

A study out there speaks of people getting tested for Leukemia because the blood tests tell them so, but they are now recommending testing for Covid before they do something more invasive. So if this happens to you – don’t panic like me!

Because your WBC’s are low, you are at a greater risk for secondary infections like pneumonia. We know Covid already affects the lungs, so try to keep moving even if it’s just around your living room or to the refrigerator to try and eat something. Do deep breathing exercises to keep your lungs strong and fighting.

When you get a PCR test, you want to know your cycle threshold (CT) count. The PCR will tell you negative or positive, but the CT level is vital to know. This number may tell you if you already had Covid or if it’s on the way out or just beginning. These are things to know if you are planning on getting a vaccine. A negative test doesn’t mean you didn’t have it last week, and you should be waiting 30 days after Covid is gone to get the shot.  

Doctors need data! Many of my questions were unanswered because they don’t know enough, so please share your symptoms or concerns – especially if they are unusual. We are all different! If I listened to the people who told me not to worry and sometimes the side effects last longer, I wouldn’t have called my doctor. My intuition and head told me something different.

Albeit, it didn’t say ‘your son has Covid,’ but I knew something wasn’t right.  

Everyone I reached out to got right back to me, even his oncologist whom I hadn’t talked to in 5 years responded on a Saturday evening. They care and are here to help, that’s why they do what they do – our heroes!

Lastly, my husband, who originally was against a vaccine and started relenting because of a little nagging and a desire to make his family happy, is now annoyed with himself. He was in no rush, so he made an appt for the end of April, and now he has to quarantine because of exposure. His wife (me), who is fully vaccinated, is cleared to live her life as long as she has no symptoms … and I don’t. 🙂

So even though it’s a free country (at least that’s what they call it) and you can make your own choices, really think about it from all angles. I understand if you are pregnant or have a medical reason NOT to get one. But talk to your doctor and tell them your fears. Please, do your homework for yourself and don’t listen to what everyone else says. And if you don’t want to do the imprisonment after every exposure, you may want to get the vaccine.  

It won’t kill you, but Covid might. 2.7 million people worldwide passed away and if those aren’t enough reasons to get a vaccine, I don’t know what is.. You can read about adverse side effects or the lack thereof from the CDC here.

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So here we are, as I publish this, it’s 10:45 am, Joe is still sleeping, and his head was cool all night! YAY!!! As today is also World Down Syndrome Day, I have to honor him for being the loving, warrior he is. Yesterday, after the pediatrician called, he sat on the couch and leaned in next to me asking if I was ok! He survived leukemia and not letting Covid get him down. His innate faith is a lesson he keeps teaching me. I love you, Joe Riguzzi, keep showing us how it’s done. #downsyndromestrong

Wishing you all love and good health,

Sandy